Ex-NY Police Chief Who Beat Suspect that Stole Bag of His Sex Toys Arrested Again

The disgraced former chief of New York's Suffolk County Police Department was arrested Tuesday night in a Long Island park.

James Burke, 58, has been charged with offering a sex act, public lewdness, indecent exposure and criminal solicitation, according to local reports. A police source told The Messenger he was also in possession of narcotics at the time of his arrest.

News12 Long Island reported that sources anticipate additional charges will be filed against Burke.

Burke was arrested at approximately 10:15 a.m. at Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park in Selden.

A police source said Burke was detained after soliciting undercover park rangers for sex. The Messenger was unable to reach Burke for comment.

It was unclear when he would be arraigned. Information on his lawyer, assuming he has one, was unavailable.

It's not the first time the former police chief has been charged with criminal activity. Burke was previously sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2016 to assault and obstruction of justice charges.

Federal investigators learned Burke had assaulted a suspect who was in police custody back in 2012, and that he took subsequent actions to cover the assault up. He was further accused of witness coercion.

The suspect he attacked at the time had stolen a duffel bag from his police vehicle while it was parked outside his home in St. James. The items inside included a gun belt, sex toys, ammunition, and pornography.

Burke first became infamous during his time as the top cop for the Suffolk Country Police Department as the victims of the Long Island Serial Killer were first discovered along the shores of Gilgo Beach.

John Ray, an attorney for the families of victims Jessica Taylor and Shannan Gilbert, — whose unrelated death sparked the discovery of the other bodies — has long claimed that Burke botched the investigation and froze out the FBI and other enforcement agencies working on the case.